ABSTRACT
We produced high pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 haemagglutinin protein HA1 in recombinant Pichia pastoris in a 10 L fermentor, to establish a high-density cell fermentation method. We studied the effects of different factors such as culture temperature, induced temperature, methanol feeding methods, trace elements on the growth of Pichia pastoris, the yield and the biologic activity of recombinant HA1 protein. The culture temperature in pre-induced and induced stage were optimized at 25 degrees C to adapt cell growth and recombinant protein expression, and induced temperature at 25 degrees C also resulted in higher biologic activity of rHA1 than at 30 degrees C. The binding activity of rHA1 against a wide-spectrum neutralizing antibody was susceptible to the presence of any trace elements, although trace elements would essentially benefit for the cell fermentation. As a conclusion, the expression level of rHA1 produced with optimized fermentation process reached 120 mg/L, which was 10.5 times higher than the one produced in regular shaking flask. The resultant high-density cell fermentation can likely produce rHA1 of H5N1 in large scale.